SprezzOS is a free, open source and geek-friendly operating system derived from the award-winning Debian GNU/Linux distribution and powered by both a Linux kernel and a FreeBSD kernel.

Available for download as a dual-arch, installable-only CD

The distro is available for download as a dual-arch ISO image that can be only be installed. It designed to support both 32-bit (i386) and 64-bit (amd64) hardware platforms. The ISO image has approximately 350MB in size and must be deployed to either a CD disc or a USB thumb drive of 512MB or higher capacity.

Boot options

The GRUB powered bootloader implemented on the ISO image comes with the ability to start the installation in standard or export mode with basic VGA mode or using the VGA/VBE mode. It is also possible to perform a system memory diagnostic test using the Memtest86+ utility.

Easy-to-use text-mode installer

As mentioned, the distro can only be installed on a computer that supports one of the aforementioned architectures (see above for details). It features a modern text-mode installer like nothing we’ve seen before, designed to be used only by power users.

To install the distribution, you must choose a language that will be used for the installation process, select your current location and a keyboard layout, configure the network, set up users and passwords, configure the clock and partition the disk.

Bottom line

Summing up, SprezzOS is a distribution for hipsters, for power users who are bored by the typical, user-friendly operating systems like Ubuntu or Linux Mint.

SprezzOS was reviewed by Marius Nestor, last updated on July 2nd, 2014